The Loves of My Life

Our cute boy has begun to smile so easily lately and coos often. He's such a sweet baby.

We have a massive tree in the backyard that has TONS of leaves. This pile is from only about half of the leaves - others have yet to fall. We had so much fun playing in them. We threw Hailey in and she completely disappeared. Matt did a flip into them and completely disappeared, too. It was so much fun. I've never played in leaves like this before. We had a blast! We didn't get too many photos, but we got some family film and it's Hailey's new favorite to watch. She squeals every time Matt reappears from under the leaves.

Hailey loves to help Matt wash the cars. She doesn't hesitate to get all wet and soapy. The only thing she doesn't like is the spray down - she runs and hides on the front step while he sprays it off. She is so incredibly helpful and loves to clean.

So the other day Hailey needed some entertaining so I drew a face and some hair one one of her balloons and named it "Sally." Hailey thought it was so cool and asked for a marker. I gave her a Crayola washable marker and turned my head for a few minutes. Next thing I knew she was drawing on my arm. I turned to tell her that don't draw on arms and this is what I saw. Both arms looked this bad. I guess I hadn't ever thought to instruct her specifically not to draw on herself because every other time she even got a little mark by accident she would tell me and ask me to wipe it off. Obviously she's past that stage. Luckily there was only one little mark on the couch that came off easily. Oh, and washable markers are not so washable off the skin. She wore a hint of it for the rest of the day and I it looked like bruises.

Precious. What other word is there to describe such a face.

One of my new favorite things is this wrap. I use it with Levi in the front and I tried it with Hailey in the back and it worked fabulously. Next time we hike, this is what I'm using. It's very comfortable to stand up straight and walk normal - I was just hunched because we were trying to get Hailey to smile and I had just finished hopping or spinning.

I don't know if you can tell in this size of photo, but I put this one up to show how green her eyes have become. They are still changing a little - I thought that was supposed to end at one year, not past two. :) They are still so beautiful.

September/October

We have had a couple of very busy months filled with all sorts of fantastic events. They're pretty much in backward chronological order and skip around randomly too, but they're here.

Levi is apparently going to be a ladies man. There are some cute girls around for him to practice his charms. I love his slight grin the photo above.

The second weekend in October we were so excited to visit the Smoky Mountains! Matt's parents were anxious to get back to the Smokies. They visited them every year their family lived out here when Matt was little. They are absolutely GORGEOUS in the fall. We had to get up pretty high to see the brilliant colors, but it was well worth the drive. We enjoyed our longest ever one-on-one time with Matt's parents.

I love this snap of Matt admiring Levi. He's such a good dad.

Hailey and Matt on the porch swing at the cabin we stayed in the Smokies. It was such a nice place! A king size bed was wonderful. The view was incredible. The driveway was awful.

Levi's beautiful blues. He has his daddy's lashes too. They're not quite as thick as Matt and Hailey's yet, but they've definitely lengthened in the last month. Hailey's started out really thin too so I expect his will thicken up. Lucky kiddos. Definitely a bonus from their daddy.

Okay, this is shameful. My wonderful mother came to visit and help me for ten days at the beginning of September, and I didn't even do a post on it. It deserved a post all of its own, but I didn't take a ton of photos. So, here's my one photo, but GREAT THANKS to a much needed and much appreciated visit from my mother. I know it was a great sacrifice to her and my dad to have her here so long.

Skipping ahead a month, both sets of grandparents came at the beginning of October. I know, I'm spoiled to have three parental visits in a month's time. Below are Matt's fabulous parents.

And my fabulous parents.

We went on different several different outings while they were here. The next three photos were taken at a huge park nearby. This is probably one of my top 3 favorite photos ever taken of Hailey. It is rare that you can truly capture the essence of her personality and love of running, and my mom caught it on camera. Thanks Mom! Hailey LOVES to run. She kept saying "go faster." I really am going to take her to a park one of these warmer days coming up and take my running watch and track how far she goes before she tires. I really think she could go a mile.

Obviously the kids weren't thrilled about our family photo time. Hopefully that's not the case when we actually get some taken.

Levi's blessing was a beautiful experience. We were so glad to have BOTH sets of grandparents here. We didn't think it was going to work out, but due to great sacrifice and efforts, it did. Thanks moms and dads!

I LOVED his blessing outfit my mom brought. He looks like such a mini man. The faux tie and vest are probably my favorite parts.

Levi's first meeting of Butler grandparents.

Matt's mom is an astounding seamstress. She made this beautiful quilt for Levi and all the crib set up to match. You can't tell, but the tan material is minky (the really, really soft material). We love it and so does Levi. He sleeps with it every night in his crib.

Matt was able to do eye exams on our parents while they were here. We had so much fun helping them pick out frames, etc. Matt didn't get to do a full exam on my dad due to schedule conflict, but wanted to take a look at his eye so we went up the student lab for a minute and I even got to see the place where the barbed wire pierced his eye. It was miraculously close to his pupil.

Matt's school's homecoming happened while my parents were here. We had a fun time with the balloon man who made Hailey a pony. Hailey had such a fun time with her grandpas while they were here. She is at a very playful stage and thought their games were so fun. It was special to see the bonds grow with all four grandparents.

After eating, Matt spent nearly the entire evening on the blow up toy with Hailey. Next to running, jumping is a favorite hobby.

Matt and I at homecoming.

Reuniting with Grandma Stevens.

I love this photo of Levi looking up at his grandpa for the first time.

It was precious - when I put Levi in her lap he looked up a gave her a HUGE smile - something that is still rare.

Little Man Showcase

I love this picture of him.

He's still so little (but growing well - 7 lbs 15.2 oz yesterday!). Both of our babies have had Matt's ape-ishly long arms as you can tell here. I'm not kidding about Matt's arms. He's got a 6'5" wingspan!

The last couple of days Levi has treated us with smiles. He doesn't always give them, but when he does they're intentional and very sweet. This is a smaller one, but it's all we have on camera so far.

Proud Daddy and his look-alike.

We got a picture like this when Hailey was a baby. It was one of my favorite so we tried it with Levi. I love it.

Mommy and baby. I adore him, obviously.

Sister showing the love (she has LOTS to show).

Monkey face.

Obviously Levi didn't like this idea tonight. He even showcased his purple crying face. Hailey loves it when I put him in bed with her. It's a great distraction to occasional pre-bed grumpy moments. She really is a good big sister. We're still working on being gentle, but I'm sure that will come with time and age.

He makes her look like a giant! She's about 37"and he's 21.5".

Funny Hailey story of the day: I was feeding Levi on the couch and had dozed off. I woke up and looked up just in time to see Hailey sitting down of the toilet. However, she apparently forgot to put her seat on that time because next thing I knew I saw her little feet up in the air. She quickly pulled herself out and I busted up laughing to myself. She came running out saying "my fall down. My all wet." I had Hailey tell Matt when he got home and laughed and gave her a hug. He asked why I didn't get a picture - she was just too quick getting out. Thank goodness I had just scrubbed the toilets last night.

Oh, and no, I'm not potty training yet. If Hailey had her way she'd be trained. She knows all the steps from stripping to washing (she even picks up and puts the toilet seat down), but I just haven't been brave enough to attempt training with a brand new baby. That's our next big adjustment project. I think she'll finish up quickly.

Blonde Hair and Red Heels

My adorable boy.

This is his freshly washed hair that shows how blonde it is.

I took this photo to see how small he is.

I bought these red shoes at a yard sale and Hailey thinks they're cool. I'm amazed at her coordination walking around in them.